olcott



. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J, H. OLOOTT.

Lawn-Mower.

' Patented April 27, 1880.

Inventor:

N. PETERS. PNOTO-LITMOGRAPHER. WASHINGTDN. D C.

2 SheetsM-Sheeaj; 2. J. H, OLOOTT. Lawn-Mower.

No.-227,048. Patented April 27, 1880.

N-PEYERB. FHOTO-UfHOGRAPNER, WASHINGTON. B. C

UNITED STATES JOSEPH H. OLOOTT, OF MILLSTONE, NENV JERSEY.

LAWN-MOWER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 227,048, dated April2'7, 1880.

Application filed February 17, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH H. OLOOTT, of Millstone, in the county ofSomerset, in the State of New Jersey, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Lawn-Mowers, of which the following description,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof,is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates tocertain improve ments on thelawn-mowerfor whichLetters Patent of the United States numbered 223,750 were granted tonie'the 20th day of January, 1880. 4

These improvements consist, first, in means I forreadily adjusting andholding the knives on their revolving stock; second, in a drivewheel forlawn-mowers having a rigidly-affixed axle and a smooth or unobstructedouter face free of projecting hubs or axles; third, in rigidly affixingthe axles to the inner face of the wheels and supporting such axles inboxes on the frame, such boxes being adjustable to compensate for wear;fourth, in pro viding the cutter-bar with an adjusting-lever arranged atone end thereof and projecting rearwardly and adjust-ably held by aset-screw and spring in a bracket attached to the side framing.

In the drawin gs, in the several figures of which like parts aresimilarly designated, Figure lis a top-plan view of my lawn-mower. Fig.2 is a central longitudinal vertical section thereof. Fig. 3 is anelevation of the interior of the wheel. Fig. etis a verticalcross-section of the cutter; and Fig. 5 is a vertical crosssection ofone of the driving-wheels.

A A designate the driving-wheels, having internal toothed rings a. B isthe main shaft, having pinions b, which mesh with the toothed rings a.This shaft is supported in side pieces, 0 c, braced by rods or bars (Id, and constituting the frame.

Upon the shaft B is mounted a cutter-stock, O, composed of, say, threespiral wings, and at the edges of these wings are placed the cutters orknives 6, held thereupon by bolts f, arranged in open transverse slotsg, said bolts serving to hold said knives close against the faces of thewinged stock, but in order to provide for the proper adjustment of thecutters upon the stock to compensate for wear as they are sharpened, Isecure said knives by means, of screw-threaded hooks h, whose beardsproject through holes in said knives, (see Fig 4,) and their shanks liein transverse grooves 11 back of the knives in the stock, and extendthence downwardly into longitudinal slots j made through the stock,wherein said hooks are secured by nuts It. By means of these nuts thesehooks may be loosened or tightened to permit the adjustment of theknives, and the knives are held firmly to the stock.

Itwill be understood that the gearing of shaft B with the driving-wheelsinsures a rotary motion to the cutter-stock.

I have found that where the drive-wheels are made with hubs and aremounted on axles or studs projecting from the framing, such axles orstuds are soon worn off and cut the hub, so that the wheels becomespeedily defective and frequent renewals of the axles are necessary,and, too, the machine runs loosely.

To obviate these serious defects, I attach rigidly, and preferablypermanently, to the wheels A A the studs or axles l, (see Fig. 5,) andprovide boxes at for such axles in the side framing, c, in which theyare secured by any usual nut and washer, n. Of course the wear of theboxes will be upon their inner upper surfaces, and to compensate forthis wear I divide the boxes, and make their upper or bearing halves, m,adjustable with relation to the lower halves by means of verticalextensions m set in the frames 0, and having set-screws 0 arranged inslots 12 in the parts m and engaging with the usual face-plates A of thewheels A.

By loosening the set-screws o the bearings m may be pressed down uponthe fixed portions, so as to tighten upon the axles and take up theslack or wear. When these bearings are worn out they may be readilyreplaced at small cost.

By making the axles rigid with the wheels such wheels run truer and themachine works better and is more durable.

In my patent hereinbefore referred to the cutter-bar (herein lettered D)was adjusted by a lever projecting rearwardly from its middle and heldby a set-screw, spring, and bracket arranged upon a bar extending fromthe sides.

This construction was costly, and uselessly complicated the machine. Inow arrange this lever r at one end of the cutter-bar, (see Fig. 1,) andthe bracket r, with its spring and set-- screw W, I affix to one side ofthe machine, so that it is out of the way. The bar to supportit isdispensed with and the machine rendered much more compact.

The pioneer or caster-wheels E are adjustabl secured to the frames bymeans of slides 8 on said wheels, arranged to work in ways 8 on theframes 0, and secured thereto by setscrews or bolts 8 extending throughslots 8 in the frames. By means of this adjustability the cutter may bearranged to cut closer or otherwise, as desired.

F is the handle, which may be removably secured in a forked brace, F,pivoted at t to the sides 0. This brace is held at various angles, tosuit operators of different heights, by means of a set-screw, a,arranged in a slot, Q), in the side 0.

These details of improvement add materially to the effectivel'less of mylawn-mower.

By my construction of wheels with fixed axles another veryimportantresultis obtained, in thatin mowing upon tree-studded lawns,the mowing-machine having no projecting axles extending beyond theplanes of the faces of the wheels, the machine may be run close to thetrees without liability of barking them. This barking of trees by thesharp projecting axles of machines now in use is oftentimes a veryserious matter. I have entirely remedied this by the making of the facesof the wheels smooth and without projections of any kind.

My mode of securing and adjusting the knives upon the stock by thescrew-hooks prevents the possibility of displacement when in contactwith anyhard substance. if the blades are taken off for any purpose theycan be replaced in their original position without tro uble. Thesescrew-hooks also take much of the strain oft the bolts f, so that theyneed not be tightened to their full capacity.

What I claim is- 1. A cutter-stock provided with longitudinal andtransverse slots, knives, screw-hooks, nuts therefor, andfastening-bolts, combined substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. A cutter-stock provided with longitudinal and transverse slots andgrooves extending outwardly at right angles from such longitudinalslots, in combination with knives, screw-hooks, nuts therefor, and meansfor fastening the knives, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

3. A drive-wheel for lawn-mowers having a rigidly-affixed axle and asmooth or unobstructed outer or external face free of projecting hubs oraxles, substantially as described.

4:. The drive-wheels of a lawn-mower having axles or studs projectinginwardly from their inner faces and rigidly affixed thereto, incombination with the side framing of the machine and adjustable orcompensating boxes arranged in such framing, substantially as described.

5. A drive-wheel for law-mowers, adapted to contain and conceal withinitself the gearing for driving a rotary cutter, constructed with an axleor stud rigid with and extending from its inner face. whereby the wheelmay be connected with the framing of the machine and its outer facerendered free of projecting hubs or axles, substantially as described.

6. In a lawn-mower, a cutter-bar provided with an adjusting-leverarranged at one end thereof and projecting rearwardly, and adjustablyheld by a set-screw and spring in a bracket attached to the sideframing, the several parts being constructed and arranged and allcombined substantially as specified.

To the above specification of my invention I have signed my name this16th day of February, A. D. 1880.

JOSEPH H. ()LOOTT.

Witnesses:

W. B. RIBBLE, N. S. WILsoN.

